Perhaps one of the greatest tasks in operating a golf course is maintaining the course in proper playing condition. Contributing to both the expense and the manpower required for the maintenance of the course is the almost constant need to repair damage to the course caused by the use of golf carts on areas of the course where usage is not permitted. Even during normal weather conditions, greens can be easily damaged by careless operators driving carts over the greens. The damage caused by even a single golf cart can often be quite extensive. During wet conditions, the damage becomes even more severe.
When golf carts are driven over restricted areas of the course, unnecessary expense and labor must be incurred to repair the resulting damage. In order to minimize such unnecessary expenditures, many golf courses presently employ signs and cart paths in effort to keep golf carts away from restricted areas. Unfortunately, signs and paths have not always proved to be entirely effective.
In accordance with Applicant's invention, a system and method is provided for electronically monitoring and controlling the movement of golf carts relative to selected restricted areas on the golf course. With Applicant's system, an alarm such as an indicator light is activated on the golf cart to alert the cart operator that the cart is entering into a restricted area. If the cart is not removed from the restricted area within a predetermined time limit, a second alarm, such as a horn, is activated to deter further movement of the cart into the restricted area. The system may also operate to disable the cart from movement in the forward direction if the alarm warning is disregarded.